Children as young as eight years old have defied razor wire to leap from roof to roof as they attempt to break into a nursery.

Leap Ahead Nursery on Rutland Street has been forced to close because of the damage caused as the kids ripped tiles and attempted to gain entry. It is the fourth time the nursery has had to call roof repairers and so far £4,000 has been spent – not on the nursery children – but on repairs and security.

The children’s nursery is next to an alleyway, to which the toddlers do not have access, but which is sometimes littered with needles.

Neighbours in Wellington Street have also erected barbed wire to stop the roof-hopping children from gaining access to the rear of their properties.

Kayleigh Hunt, deputy manager at the nursery, where up to 24 infants are looked after said she was desperately worried the marauding children could risk their lives if they fell from the roof.

She said many of her nursery place children were upset at not being able to play together again after the half-term break and the nursery could be forced to be closed all week for repairs.

Kayleigh said: “We only just got the repairs carried out following the previous damage the week before we broke up for half-term.

“They just leap from one roof to another. The damage they cause then lets the water in. I dread every time it rains.

“This time they have broken through the roof and smashed the plasterboard ceiling. We have closed today and we may have to be shut all week for the safety of the children.”

She added : “When I rang our parents they all said their children were looking forward to being back. It is a shame.”

Kayleigh told how a leaders’ meeting at the nursery one evening last month was interrupted by children on the roof.

The deputy manager said: “We could see how young they were because some were still in their school jumpers. We alerted their school and they gave assemblies about the dangers of going on roofs. But when we told them to get down they just hurled abuse at us and started throwing things.”

Kayleigh said: “My main worry is that they could hurt themselves. But when we have to pay out thousands of pounds it hurts because it is money that could be going to the kids but it is going on repairs.”

She issued a warning to the parents of the children who go on the roof.

She said: “I hope they stop doing it. They are putting their lives at risk. Talk to your children. Tell them they have to respect other people’s property. They could be taking away from a younger sibling's play and learning opportunities. We are here to help the community. Having to close means parents have to find other ways of looking after their children if they have got work to get to.”

Kayleigh said she was also concerned about the amount of rubbish being dumped in the alleyway next to the nursery.